Obama Talks About New Drilling. Operative Word, “Talks”

Anyone else think he is looking at all sorts of polling data, reading editorials and articles that say the 2012 election will be all about the economy (and Obama’s complete incompetence), and saying “gee, I have to make a token effort which will do little to nothing, but can thump my own chest over on the campaign trail”? Barack Obama moves to expand oil and gas drilling

President Barack Obama is looking to bolster U.S. oil drilling, announcing Saturday a preemptive strike against bolder efforts from Capitol Hill as consumer unrest deepens over the price at the pump.

The White House will move forward without congressional action on a set of ideas espoused by Republicans and oil-state Democrats to expand oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and potentially parts of the Atlantic seaboard.

They write that “without Congressional action” like it’s a feather in his little red cap. He’s had the authority to do this his entire term, and decided that drilling here in the US was bad, because oil is bad. Except for his monster limo and SUV posse.

At the same time, Obama is also firing up the liberal Democratic base by urging Congress to repeal billions of dollars in oil-industry tax incentives and to raise fees against companies that do not act quickly on drilling leases they own.

Well, that should help bring down gas prices /sarc. As far as his base goes, since they hate petroleum, they’ve stopped driving, right? Right?

Obama is now looking to give a blanket extension to all oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico due to the disruption caused by last year’s Gulf spill and subsequent administration ban and slow-down of drilling permits. By doing so, Obama is at least touching on an idea advocated by Republicans as part of a three-part offshore drilling package the House approved this month.

A senior administration official told reporters Friday that the administration is also looking to complete by the end of the year the first new lease sale in the Gulf since the BP spill – and to have two combined sales finished in the western and central Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next year.

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So, he’s going to extend leases to companies who have already abandoned those wells due to Obama’s moratorium, and we won’t see new ones till the end of the year. So, nothing of substance, just another speech, and some minor action which Obama hopes will turn into slightly lower prices during ……. 2012!

And, yes, he did announce all this in his Weekly Address, which also included lots of demagoguery

The American people shouldn’t be subsidizing oil companies at a time when they’re making near-record profits. As a nation, we should be investing in the clean, renewable sources of energy that are the ultimate solution to high-gas prices. That’s why we’re investing in clean energy technology, helping businesses that manufacture solar panels and wind turbines, and making sure that our cars and trucks can go further on a tank of gas — a step that could save families as much as $3,000 at the pump.

So, we shouldn’t subsidize (we actually aren’t) the fuel that makes our country run, but, we should subsidize, excuse, “invest in”, renewable sources that have so far proven slightly better than useless, and won’t be able to actually provide fuel for our cars. One day they will. I’m all for that. But, that day is decades away. In the meantime, at least through 2012, all we have is class warfare.

“One weekend address announcing minor policy tinkering, while positive, does not erase the administration’s long, job-destroying record of locking-up America’s energy resources,” Hastings said in a statement.

If Obama was really serious, he would outsource the policy to the House, so the adults could create the policy, and Obama could go party and play some more golf.